Priest Rapids Dam is located on the Columbia River, 24 miles south of Vantage and 200 miles downstream from Grand Coulee Dam.

The dam was named in recognition of the Wanapum religious leader Smowhalla and the small band of indigenous people who lived during the winter at a village near the last of seven rapids, called Priest Rapids. A small group of the Wanapum continues to live alongside the tailrace of the dam.